Update on Baby Panther - Question

[mbondy]

I'm a newbie in the baby panther world! I've a lovely 4 month old panther that I've had for three days now.

He's drinking well and eating (not a lot), feces and urine is normal. However, I found he prefers to eat larger crickets even though he should be eating 3 to 4week old crickets. He's a little stubborn - can this cause any problems in the future? I've read he could have blockages but he refuses to eat smaller crickets. How much do you think he should be eating every day? He has so far eaten at least 5 crickets each day though they are bigger, I know he may still be stressed by a new environment so may be eating less.

What would be a normal amount to eat at his age?

 

[carol5208]

A 4 month old should easily be able to consume 15-20 1/4 inch crickets a day. When you say" large" how big are we talking? I don't know about blockages but more so a larger feeder being a potential choking hazard. Does he seem to have any problem swallowing them?

 

[mbondy]

He eats maybe 10, I've seen 5 go down each and others disapearing. I put in 15 and he always has some left over. He hunts a little but would rather just eat from a cup or from my hand. By larger I mean a little smaller then his head, they are definitely a little bigger then a 1/4 inch, maybe 1/2 inch.

He has no problem swallowing. He doesn't really eat consecutively, eats about two then eats a few more in an hour or so, doesn't seem to have any problems. I take all his left over crickets out by 3 or 4 so he has a few hours to digest.

I really like this guy, I can be a worrier but I want to make sure he's as healthy as can be!